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NasDem seeks to mend strained ties with ruling coalition
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo (left) and NasDem Party chairman Surya Paloh talk during a meeting on Nov. 22, 2018. (Antara/Yudhi Mahatma)
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asDem Party chairman Surya Paloh rekindled ties with an ally from the ruling coalition on Wednesday in an apparent effort to head off the threat of a reshuffle that could end the party’s run in the Joko “Jokowi” Widodo administration.
Surya, along with his entourage of NasDem executives, paid an afternoon visit to Golkar Party leader Airlangga Hartarto on Wednesday, an auspicious day in the Javanese calendar, a week after NasDem party elites met with the Gerindra Party-National Awakening Party (PKB) alliance at their new joint secretariat in Jakarta.
Prior to meeting Airlangga, Surya met President Jokowi amid speculation that the two figures had been at odds since NasDem announced its support for former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan to run for president in 2024.
Jokowi’s absence from NasDem’s recent anniversary celebration and Surya’s absence from the wedding of the President’s youngest son Kaesang Pangarep have stoked speculation of an impending Cabinet reshuffle targeting NasDem appointees.
Jokowi hosted two limited Cabinet meetings on Tuesday, one of which excluded Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo and the other excluded Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar, both NasDem politicians. This added to whispers that the two ministers were facing dismissal.
However, the next day, Pon Wednesday, came and went without much fanfare. The day is an auspicious one in the Javanese calendar, which Jokowi has appeared to use to determine when he will announce new policies or make major changes.
Some analysts believed the day’s uneventfulness was a good sign for NasDem’s Surya, while others suggested the President was holding on to the possible reshuffle as a trump card in case Surya’s party broke away from the ruling coalition.
